By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: Days after the BJP MLA Ashish Shelar demanded a ban on the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind due to its legal support to accused in terrorism cases, under world don Ravi Pujari has threatened to kill Gulzar Azmi, a senior functionary in Jamiat.
The organization has lodged a police complaint in this connection. Scores of other community organizations came out in solidarity with Jamiat on the issue.
Jamiat Ulema E Maharashtra Press Conference
Azmi, the secretary of the legal cell of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind (Maharashtra) claimed that he received a call on his office landline on Saturday where the caller identified himself as Ravi Pujari and threatened him of dire consequences, “if the Jamiat leader did not refrain from supporting terror cases accused, especially those who have connection with rival underworld don Chhota Shakeel.”
Source from the Jamiat office in Mumbai told TwoCircles.net that the underworld don had also asked for Mustaqeem Azmi, general secretary of Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra, after threatening Gulzar Azmi.
Addressing a media conference, Jamiat office bearers and many other religious and social activists on Monday said the Jamiat Ulema had registered the complaint with J J Marg police station and sent a copy to the city crime branch. They condemn the threatening call given by underworld don and also denounced the BJP MLA’s derogatory comments made in the assembly against Jamiat.
Reacting to the timing of political attack on the Jamiat and threat call from underworld, Gulzar Azmi said he suspected “a connection in the threat and BJP MLA Ashish Sehlar’s comment about him about the alleged links with the underworld.”
“We have been defending these accused since last seven years and we received great achievement in proving innocence of nearly 100 Muslims. We never received such a threat even after our success was widely reported in the past. It is only after the new party came to the power and first assembly session is in progress, we have been branded anti-national,” he said, “(This) could not be a mere coincidence”.
“The caller asked me to refrain from extending legal help to the terror cases accused and that, next time he will not talk with his tongue but with a gun”, he told the reporters.
Replying to the allegations raised in the assembly by Shelar, Maulana Mustaqeem Azmi said, “We are a highly esteemed organization that fights for the oppressed and calamity affected people irrespective of their religion. We extend legal help to accused only after our panel becomes satisfied of their innocence.”
“We extend support to non Muslim accused too when they approach us. We also provide educational help to poor students and extend financial help to victims of natural disaster in India,” he added.
Maulana Halimullah Qasmi said, “The government should ban those organizations whose activists have already been arrested for bomb blasts activities. There are many right wing radicals arrested in cases of Mecca Masjid, Ajmer Blast, Malegaon Blast and Goa blast. Those organizations should be banned first.”
Maulana Azhar Abbas Razvi, general secretary of All India Shia Personal Law Board, said, “Such an allegation against Muslim organization that works for the benefit of society has distressed Muslims in the country and all the Muslims are with Jamiat at this time.”
Mahmood Daryabadi, general secretary for Ulema Council said, “I see a well planned conspiracy behind maligning Jamiat’s contribution to the society and such a move needs to be condemned in strongest words.”
Aslam Gazi of Jammat-e-Islami said, “The reason Shelar is making allegations against Jamiat in the assembly is because Gulzar Azmi and others are members of the minority commission. The Saffron coalition is planning to remove them from their posts and to stop Jamiat’s valuable work by degrading its credibility.”
Police commissioner Rakesh Maria has directed the anti-extortion cell to look into Azmi’s complaint and registered an offence, sources said.
Police sources told ToI, “The gangster (Pujari) wants to portray himself as a patriot. He is a petty criminal who threatens film-stars and builders, demands huge sums and settles for petty sums. We have wiped out his module with the arrest of more than 22 members in two months.”